Introduction

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is NASA's flagship astrophysics mission. Currently under construction, and scheduled for launch in 2018, JWST is a cryogenic telescope with a 6.5-meter primary mirror and four science instruments offering sensitivity from 0.6 to 28.5 microns. The telescope will be diffraction limited at 2 microns, 4 microns, and 7+ microns. The instruments contain 40 imaging filters (pixel scale down to 0.032”), 8 spectroscopic modes (wide field grism, single object, IFU, multiobject), and 7 coronographs. A telescope for the astrophysics community, JWST was developed to provide cutting edge observations that will delve into the mysteries of the first objects to form in the early universe, the assembly of galaxies, the birth of stars and planetary systems, and planetary systems and the origins of life.

JWST White Papers

In the course of working on the development of JWST, the Science Working Group and other scientists working on Webb have written a variety of white papers describing science programs that might be accomplished with Webb. Several of these are listed below. Astronomers interested in learning more about Webb will find these papers a good place to start.

These white papers reflect the thoughts and advice of the Science Working Group (SWG) and other project scientists on what capabilities to build into the JWST system. They do not imply what science must be carried out with JWST, since nearly all of the observing time on Webb will be subject to open competitions. There are, of course, many other discussions of potential Webb science in the refereed literature.

JWST Science Corner

Scientists are already thinking of how JWST can revolutionize their fields of study. Learn more about the instruments and their sensitivities at the links below, and try your hand at some sample JWST observations by using our prototype exposure time calculator.

Submit a Paper

On this page, we are collecting input related to the growing scientific case for JWST, as referenced in peer-review journals or conference proceedings. If you have recently submitted or published a research paper that discussed JWST’s future role for the respective science case, please consider submitting this information to STScI. This information will be released to the community in the form of electronic newsletters and at the AAS meeting. You can also see it listed under 'Recent JWST Science Highlights' on this page.